"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands........" 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Friday, May 4, 2012

Through the years, I have introduced you to many Texas critters.......

Some of them quite bazaar and unique.........
From the thorned Texas horned toad.........who looks like lost miniature dragons..........



to the smelly Vinegar Roan, who is completely harmless. The worst it can do is spray you with a strong vinegar smelling spray and perhaps pinch you with those claws..............

then there is the whimsical rain toad that only can be seen after a large rain..........

and these large black bugs that I call Preacher bugs because of the white collar around their necks. They can bite and give off a high pitch screeching sound when held.........I know, because I have gotten too close............yes, I laid down on a wet patio to get this thirsty bug's photo.

(click on photo for better view)
Even though we have the common Cottontail rabbit............we also have the large Jack Rabbit.
They can get as big as an ordinary house cat..........

they have enormous ears and beautiful eyes...........

and long kangaroo type legs..........

and instead of a "cotton puff tail" they have a larger, longer black tail.
They are every where on the road side in our area. Just another unique and odd looking creature on the prairie.............although those that live here are so used to seeing them, they don't look odd at all!
How about you?
Any curious or unique creatures where you live?
I would love to hear!

20 comments:

Mini said...

Loved this post because I know now what kind of creatures are to be found in your part of the world!

Kelly said...

Beautiful creatures. It is so nice to see the animals from different parts of our beautiful country. How about a moose from Maine?

Unknown said...

Thanks for educating me. The preacher bug looks scary.

Country Gal said...

Awesome photos ! None that I know of here havent seen something out of the ordinary YET ! never say never though lol ! Have a great day !

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

I haven't seen any of those here in our part of the state, but my husband told me that he had an uncle when he was a child who could outrun a jackrabbit and catch it by those big ears. Makes me laugh to think of it.

Lisa Sall - Sall's Country Life said...

Whoa, those ears look like wings to me, possibly why they run so fast? Interesting bugs and critters, and I thought South Dakota had the worst ones!!

Nancy M. said...

Very interesting! I think we only have normal animals here. Can't think of anything strange, lol! I do love seeing the animals in your neck of the woods!

Terry and Linda said...

I always love how you love everything and every creatures!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

lil red hen said...

Hey, this was quite educational! We don't have these critters. Loved seeing the jackrabbit; I had no idea his legs and tail were so long!

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Beetles that scream. Yikes! Those are very interesting critters indeed. We have big black beetles here. I'm sure there are other creatures to be found in the desert. I was watching the Travel channel yesterday with a trek in the desert of Namibia -- wow! Very interesting all the things that live buried in the sand and how the guide could tell where they were by the cirles, lines or discoloration in the sand. Fascinating! Wishing you a wonderful weekend. Tammy

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Wonderfully strange and beautiful creatures you've brought to us sweetie. Thank you!

Farm Boy saw a panther cross the road in front of him on our property a couple mornins ago. I asked if he whipped out his cell and took a picture. Nope, no pic.

For heaven's sake, this man knows he's married to a blogger. Heeehehehe!

God ya and have a beautiful weekend dear heart! :o)

Hill Top Post said...

Enjoyed this little trip to Texas...almost as fun as the wildflowers! The horned toad made me think of the movie Old Yeller when the little boy pulled one out of his pocket...can't be too dangerous...right?

Connie said...

Kathleen, I always enjoy visiting your blog because so much of the time it seems like you live in a different world than mine. I don't think I've ever seen any of these creatures unless it was in a zoo. Mostly all we see are cottontail bunnies and black and grey squirrels and birds. Out in the country we see a lot of deer and once in a while a raccoon or opossum or skunk or groundhog.

Patty said...

THat jack rabbit has some big ears! We have regular little cotton tail rabbits. Not as many this year because we also have a couple hawks. We have a blue-tail skink living under our porch steps. We see it every once in awhile. I enjoy reading your post, love your pictures.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Kathleen, we have cottontail rabbits in the yard, lots of nesting purple martens, and an assortment of bugs but I haven't captured any with my camera lately.

Bev C said...

Hello kathleen

great photo's especially loved the first one. Saw a rabbit down the bottom of our garden just last week. We have had a mice plague,the cat has loved it.
happy days.
Bev.xoxo

A Colorful World said...

What an interesting collection of critters! :-) We have the cottontail and jackrabbit, and we also have the horny toad (horned lizard) but not those beetles (that I know of!) :-) Once in Virginia many years ago, I was cooking in a little lean-to kitchen in the small house we were living in, and something flew at my head. I looked around and saw a strange-looking bug on the light shade, so thinking that's what had attacked me, I called for my hubby to come kill it. I will never forget this....it actually SCREAMED when he raised his hand to hit at it. I've never felt so awful about killing a bug in my life! And we tried to find out what kind of bug it was that seemed to have enough intelligence to know it was about to be killed, but we never did. The worst part was, after it was dead, I found the bug that had flown at me, and it wasn't the poor screaming bug at all! I know it was just an insect, but that has haunted me my whole life!

Brenda Kay Ledford said...

I like your Texas critters very much. The Jack Rabbit is cute. I've never heard of the preacher bug. It is unique! Awesome photos. Thanks for sharing these animals with us.
Here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, we have the "rain crow" that is actually a mourning dove. Old-timers called it the "rain crow" because when it cooed, the thought we would have rain.

Diana said...

HI Kathleen, we have lizards that come out on the steps to sun themselves they are striped and some as tiny as 2 inches long and some closer to 8 inches.. their tails are a neon blue..sometimes they are brown with a bright red head. We have pilated wood peckers which are 18 inches long. One has been in the yard this morning while I was drinking my coffee on the porch. Flying squirrels at night,luna moths..lots of gorgeous and wonderful critters too. I like your critters.. take care, love,Diana

Julie Whitmore Pottery said...

That is such a beautiful horned toad.
I used to pet them when I was in grade school, in Southern Calif, they were all over. Now we live on the central coast and just yesterday about six deer walked right by my studio while I was painting, just a few feet away. Wild turkeys are plentiful this year, and we've got loads of Monarch butterflies. Sometimes a great blue heron will fly by or light in the field across the street to hunt. When it rains that same field is full of rain frogs. they are small though, the size of a silver dollar.
But the best is the whales, who migrate by our town on the way to Alaska. One night we heard them singing........they make the prettiest most haunting sound.